Finrod swore an oath to the house of Barahir. When Beren came to collect
on that oath, in order to fulfill the quest of the Silmaril, Finrod knew that
it would lead to his death, and yet also knew he must help to achieve the
quest.
Yes, Tolkien is saying that this oath will eventually lead to
Finrod's death; but he is also showing the NOBILITY of Finrod to take up this
oath to give back to the house of Barahir even if it would mean his life.
He in the end gave his life to save Beren from a were wolf, killing the wolf
while he himself died. However, his noble acts didn't go unnoticed.
With most of the Noldorin royalty in Middle-earth during the
Silmarillion; after their deaths we don't hear much of them. Of the great
Feanor we hear of how he sits in the Halls of Mandos and won't come among his
kin. Although we can speculate that many of the more noble of the Noldor
WERE reincarnated (Fingolfin, Fingon, Turgon, and Ecthelion; while we KNOW that
Glorfindel, depending on what you believe, came back and returned to
Middle-earth) Tolkien is very clear with Finrod. "He walks with his
father Finarfin in Valinor," Tolkien wrote of Finrod. Finrod was
reincarnated, and although I DO speculate the same of many of the others I
named; we KNOW that is the case with Finrod Felagund.
Does his reincarnation have to do with his keeping an oath he made in
GOOD faith? It wasn't to pursue to the death any creature, no matter
what, that stole a silmaril; it was to help the family of a friend in times of
utmost need.
I don't think Tolkien is fully against oaths, but against oaths
made in haste and in bad faith. Think of the oath of Faramir not to have
anything to do with the Ring. When he said it, he didn't even know what
it was; and yet because of his oath, he held to it.
Faramir's dignity and honor wouldn't allow him to break his oath,
even though it was the One Ring right within his grasp. Faramir held to
his oath and was not cursed for it.
At the same time; the breaking of oaths made in GOOD faith can
result with horrid consequences (the army of the Dead in Return of the King was
ONLY still around because of the oath they had made to help Isildur and Gondor,
an oath which they had broken. Upon breaking it, Isildur cursed them to
never rest until they could fulfill the oath; something they did by helping the
Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, the sons of Elrond, and the Rangers of the North take
the ships at Umbar. Aragorn then released them to rest in peace.
I think something a bit more intriguing to look into would be
Tolkien's belief in curses. It would seem that Vala, Maia, elf, man,
dwarf, and down onto hobbits and pretty much anyone can make a curse that holds
true. The only case I can think of when a curse doesn't hold true is when
the king of the dwarvish host that raided Menegroth and took the Silmaril
cursed the treasure when he died and Beren reclaimed it. The only thing
that I can think of is how after the death of Beren and Luthien (when Dior, now
king of Menegroth and Doriath, claimed the Silmaril) the sons of Feanor came
and asaulted Doriath and never again did that kingdom rise. So, while
oaths and oath breaking are viewed differently throughout Tolkien's work, the
laying of curses and the predictions of doom seem to hang over all of his work
pretty steadily.
Thanks for the topic though, a very interesting
one.
This just in: Aragorn Elessar has become the first Heir of Numenor to be elected President of the United States. In his election speech he has vowed to find the weapons of Middle-earth destruction held by Isengard and Mordor; but he will not limit marriages between Elves and Men. He will, however, restrict the number of hobbits the country will accept each year.
The vice president has been chosen as Faramir, Secretary of State is to be Gandalf the White, Legolas Greenleaf is to be the Minister of Defense, Gimli son of Gloin will be the Secretary of the Treasury, and Merry and Pippin will serve as the co-Attorney Generals; they will make sure children learn of the dangers of pipe-weed (and its benefits) from an early age.
Asked for his comments on his devotion to his duties as President, Elessar said he would, "Follow (his people) to the end, to the very fires of Mordor."
